Paradise
by Weaving a Tangled Web
Summary: "She was always at the top of her game; sometimes it was just too easy to forget that Katerina Petrova was just a shattered, broken seventeen year old girl, whose life had been far too ruthless, callous, & merciless towards her."  Bulgaria 1490. Oneshot.


Oneshot: Paradise

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><p><strong>Disclaimer<strong>: I do not, nor will I ever, own the Vampire Diaries. Any references or characters belong to L.J. Smith, Julie Plec, Kevin Williamson, and all the other incredible people who made TVD possible. The plots and settings that differ from the original Vampire Diaries television or book series belong to me.

The second last scene of this oneshot contains the dialogue from the actually birth scene from the episode, "Katerina." All general portrayals and characters' speech from that scene belongs to the CW, along with Julie and Kevin.

**Author's Note**: I've been wanting to write a TVD story for so long, actually. If anybody knows me, they'll know I dislike beginning new stories when I haven't finished the previous one. It places too much on my plate. And I thought my first TVD story was going to be Delena. Nope. I started out with a oneshot for Katherine.

Years ago, I had a DeviantArt account (which I deleted) called 'tokkamoments' (I had been addicted to Avatar: The Last Airbender at the time.), and I was given credits (or something like that. Can't remember what the things are called) for a membership by a user named Krisyelle00, who asked me to write a short oneshot based on anything I could think of, on a character she had drawn. Originally, I had written a (quite poorly written, but interesting enough plot) oneshot about an over-obedient girl named Sora, who's mother was harsh beyond reason. It reminded me of the one and only, Katherine Pierce. Just in case anybody had stumbled over my old story back in my younger days and saw the similarities between this oneshot and that story.

Honestly, I love Katherine. I need to see what the hell happened to her with the whole 'Mikael-draining-her' thing. I'm going to die if I don't in the next episode this Thursday.

I hope you enjoy it!

_x Mel_

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><p><em>When she was just a girl,<br>She expected the world,  
>But it flew away from her reach,<br>And bullets catch in her teeth._

_Life goes on,_  
><em>It gets so heavy,<em>  
><em>The wheel breaks the butterfly.<em>  
><em>Every tear, a waterfall.<em>  
><em>In the night, the stormy night,<em>  
><em>She closed her eyes.<em>  
><em>In the night, the stormy night,<em>  
><em>Away she flied.<em>

_And dreamed of para-para-paradise,_  
><em>Para-para-paradise,<em>  
><em>Para-para-paradise,<em>  
><em>Whoa-oh-oh oh-oooh oh-oh-oh.<em>  
><em>She dreamed of para-para-paradise,<em>  
><em>Para-para-paradise,<em>  
><em>Para-para-paradise,<em>  
><em>Whoa-oh-oh oh-oooh oh-oh-oh.<em>

_..._

_And so lying underneath those stormy skies_  
><em>She'd say, "Oh, Oh-Oh-Oh-Oh. I know the sun must set to rise."<em>

- "Paradise" by Coldplay

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><p><em>Obedience is a virtue, a gift, and the only thing keeping me from disowning you. Learn it now, or leave. <em>

These were the words of sixteen year old Katerina's father, who had just caught Katerina coquetting with a gentleman. Katerina had believed that she truly loved Andrei. He had recently turned twenty and Katerina longed to marry him. The remembrance of the day was strong; she could still recall every word that was said that night.

_Flashback_

"_Katerina! What are you doing with this man? You are tarnishing the Petrova name by being with him." Her father growled, looking upon Katerina and Andrei with contempt and revulsion. Andrei was of one of the poorer, less noble families in the village, not meeting the requirements for what her father would have approved of. _

_Katerina suddenly felt as if she and Andrei had been caught doing the act, as her father's scrutinizing stare progressed. "Father, Andrei means no harm. He is an excellent worker and he will not be able to tarnish the precious '_Petrova'_ name as much as I have." She hissed, defiantly. Her hands clenched into fists in a very un-lady like manner and her cheeks were very well flushed from humiliation and frustration._

"_You cannot be seen with him! Come spring, you will be eloping and I will be shamed by your harlotry." _

_Tears threatened to spill through Katerina's chocolate brown doe eyes, over her sun-kissed skin. "I am not, nor will I _ever_ be, such a thing," She spat at her father. "You insult me by comparing me to a courtesan. Does your own flesh and blood mean anything to you, Father? For I have done no foul, yet have done all scornful things in your opprobrious eyes."_

"_Done no foul? Look around, Katerina. I may appear opprobrious to you, but the entire village has seen nothing but scandalous behaviour from you! Flamboyant around all of the opposite gender."_

_Katerina's face crumpled at the hurtful words. Though it was true that Katerina enjoyed spending time with gentlemen of all sorts, she did it for the surging thrill of feeling love. The love she did not receive from her father._

"_Obedience is a virtue, a gift and the only thing keeping me from disowning you. Learn it now, or leave."_

_She bit her lip, attempting to hold back the waterfall that was sure to come with no avail. A couple mortified tears leaked out of her dark eyes. As soon as she heard the familiar _snap_ and _click_ from the interior of her house, she glanced up and noticed that her father returned inside her house. Throughout the entire argument, Andrei had not muttered a single word from his lips._

"_This is what you deserve, you disobedient little wretch!" Her father snapped from inside the warm home. "You will only be allowed inside, once you learn to obedient. You have a time limit of two hours to correct your ways. I will then return and decided your fate."_

_Katerina held strong, audaciously staring her father in the eye; however, internally, all she longed to do was curl up into a ball on her soft bed and cry freely. _

_ "Kat?" Andrei whispered quietly, wrapping his arms around her lovingly._

_ "Just go. Please, Andrei. Just go." Katerina choked on a sob that was clawing its way up her throat. "I love you." _

"_And I you. Always." It was their regular exchange. In a matter of seconds, Andrei had disappeared into the frigid, snowy night._

_Her father was so callous and cold towards her – his own daughter - but Katerina came to the conclusion that she did not wish for her father to be disappointed with her, though he always had been._

_The minuscule snowflakes fell gracefully across the snow that had already accumulated itself, burying the last remainders of life beneath its cold clutches. Katerina shivered and rubbed her hands up and down her arms, attempting to create some kind of warmth, for she was only in her corseted dress and a thin, hooded cloak made of sheepskin. It provided little comfort for Katerina's trembling frame._

_Pulling her focus away from the glacial weather and how her father had denied her warmth, her soft eyes looked to the stars that glimmered in the night sky. A ghost of a smile appeared on Katerina's pink lips as she lightly closed her eyes and sighed in contentment. The night was so beautiful. So mysterious. _

_It tore her heart to shreds that she would have to stay away from Andrei from this night on. But there was nothing more in life that she yearned for than her father's love and approval. Katerina wanted her father to love her again, and she would do it, whatever the costs._

_End of Flashback_

Katerina had promised herself never to disobey or disgrace her parents ever again. This oath had been kept; that is, until obeying her parents, meant losing part of herself in process. She would have also lost her freedom as well.

There she sat, a few days shy from her 17th birthday, suitors of all ages parading around in front of her. Probably each hoping that she would marry them and they would then inherit the fortune that was no longer there.

Katerina once had an inheritance. A great deal of it, actually. Unfortunately, Katerina's father gambled it all away. Almost every single last penny of it. No one in the village knew of her father's disreputable pastimes. Luckily, when Katerina had turned sixteen, she managed to sneak some into her 'emergency bag,' which she brought whenever she was alone. It contained a multitudinous amount of gold, silver, and copper pieces, out of the possible abundant riches that were supposed to be in her inheritance, all wrapped in tightly bound bundles. It also consisted of spare clothing and various dried herbs for health issues – Katerina was always prepared, one step ahead of anything that threatened her well-being. Furthermore, her parents also had no knowledge of the small bag and its contents.

_Flashback_

"_What, pray tell, are you doing, Katerina?" Andrei give her a lop-sided smile, his eyes sparkling with amusement as she furiously threw items into the bag._

"_Tell me, Andrei. What if something were to happen to me? Given my father's hot temper and the manner in which my mother submits to my father – as if she were his slave – I will likely be thrown out of the house within a fortnight." A recently-turned sixteen year old Katerina mused as she tied the strings around the bag and placed behind the wooden table in her bedroom._

"_Especially with the manner in which you, a lovely, elegant maiden of noble birth, even spend your free time with me, a lowly villager. It's an abomination." Andrei's breath tickled her ear as he wrapped his arms around her small waist and pulled her close. _

"_Quite unruly behaviour." Katerina murmured in return._

"_Utterly wicked." His voice had a calming effect on her, like smooth honey coursing through her veins. Andrei spun her around to face her, their foreheads meeting as Katerina's heartbeat quickened, beating rapidly against her ribcage, the instant she gazed at him, brown eyes meeting equally brown eyes._

"_Completely corrupt."_

"_You're absolutely captivating." Andrei's warm breath blew across her face. Before Katerina had a chance to inhale in the intoxicating scent, Andrei's soft lips met hers in a sweet, innocent kiss. After a couple seconds, the kiss ended, yet both lovers were reluctant to leave each other's arms._

"_I love you." Katerina whispered._

"_And I you. Always." He gave her a small smile, before disappearing through the window and running off to avoid her father's wrath._

_Katerina watched as the love of her life ran off. Her cheeks reddened to the colour of tomatoes as her mind leaped into sexual thoughts. Squeezing her eyes shut, she shook the unthinkable images out of her mind. It was taboo to even consider sexual relations before marriage; her entire village would shun her. _

_No. She would never risk that for the world._

_End of Flashback_

"Katerina. Katerina." Katerina vaguely heard her name being called, yet she continued to reminisce in the land of memories. Everything had been so much simpler back then.

"Katerina Petrova!" Snapping out of her daydreams, Katerina returned back to reality. She looked at her father beside her, who was staring flaming daggers into Katerina's eyes. If looks could kill…

"These suitors have been waiting patiently for you to snap out of senseless daydreams. But I will not tolerate it any longer. Now sit up, straighten that spine of yours, and try to look presentable." Her father whispered harshly into Katerina's ear. Katerina grimaced from the hot, atrocious breath meeting her ear, but nodded to her father's commands.

Her parents had paraded an enormous line-up of suitors, wanting to be accepted and tie the knot with their only daughter. Of course, most of them probably didn't actually want Katerina. They wanted the inheritance she didn't have. But the men didn't know that. Her parents plan was probably to marry her off to a wealthy man so that they would receive her husband's fortune to pay off my father's debts. Man after man, knelt before her, sugar-coating their proposals. It wasn't like it was even Katerina's choice; however, her father continued to make it appear like she had part in the decision. Much to the men's dismay and Katerina's amusement, her father had rejected quite a majority of them.

A man skipped towards Katerina with an eager face. No, not a man. A boy. His chubby face made the young man appear as if he were still in a pre-pubescent stage. The boy bowed and lightly placed a kiss upon Katerina's hand. Katerina restrained herself, holding back all the disgust that was compiling inside her mind.

"This is Mr. Marko Todorova. He is the son of the Todorova family; one of the richest families here." Her father's voice droned on.

Katerina was horrified by the boy in front of her, who appeared to be barely beginning puberty. It was not uncommon that boys the age of twelve were wed to other women, but they were normally paired with younger women – not older ones, such as herself. Her thoughts automatically rejected the male in front of her. Marko might have been an innocent, caring young man for all she knew, but he was too young to even be playing in this game of arranged marriages.

"It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Miss Katerina Petrova…" Katerina blocked out his voice, feeling suffocated of having to listen the flawless, perfected lines that left the suitors' lips as they proclaimed how 'beautiful' she was and how they would be 'honoured' to be permitted to have her hand in marriage. Once Katerina returned her senses to the boy in front of her, she noticed Marko watching her anxiously.

"I think you would make a suitable husband for Katerina. Do you think so?" Her father looked at Katerina expectantly, asking for her opinion when it didn't matter what she thought. Translation: Marry him or her father shall disown her. Katerina felt the need to scowl, but she kept her a face a calm mask, which she had very well mastered over the years.

"Of course, father." Katerina nodded. "If it is your will and if you think it is best for our family."

"You may leave now, Katerina. Your presence is no longer required." Her father sat up with pride and smiled cynically at the rest of the suitors. There were a few mumblings in the crowd, but they all stood up and left the household; the scene complete with Katerina's father slamming the door behind all of them except for Marko.

Katerina remained seated the entire time and had to fight the urge to scrunch up her face and stand up to her father.

"Lord Todorova, you may leave as well." Her father said, briskly. "We shall continue with the engagement plans another day, hmm?" Katerina's thoughts took a miserable turn as she stared at her father with a burning hatred.

Marko grinned widely, his eyes shining with pride, as he sauntered out the door. Katerina watched him with anger. He was so free and innocent to the horrors around him… she was not subjected to such a luxury.

She cleared her throat quietly, glancing up to her father, who was towering over her. "You shall be expected to be act like a bride. So behave yourself." Katerina briefly nodded, fearing her voice would betray her resentment and helplessness towards her engagement.

"May I go to the garden, father? I would like to take a stroll, for it is a warm spring day." Her father dismissed her with a wave of her hand.

He controlled Katerina's life like a hawk capturing its prey; however, the hawk never once attempted to what would surely be a regular meal, but merely clutched its prey in its talons, squeezing tighter and tighter, keeping it on the brink of life and death.

Katerina was put into a myriad of classes when in her childhood. It was studying galore for Katerina, the never-displeasing daughter. Katerina had learned archery, art, and an assortment of languages other than her native tongue of Bulgarian. Her father was very intense of her learning music, so Katerina studied the viol, lute, and harpsichord.

_Flashback_

"_Katerina, straighten your back. Look towards the audience. No, it's only effective if you look into their eyes. Now play." Her father demanded._

_A thirteen year old Katerina dutifully played her viol, but her bow slipped on a string._

"_How many times must you practice to even begin to get things right?" Her father scowled, a disappointed _

_Katerina bit her lip and tried again, hitting all the right notes._

_Her father made a noise of chagrin. "Your dynamics and timing are off. Ah, well, you are only mediocre. Move onto the harpsichord. Your mother must brush your hair while you do it; visitors are arriving in a short period of time."_

_Katerina leaned her viol back against the wooden wall and slide onto the tiny bench in front of her harpsichord. Her fingers moved up and down each scale. A hard object hit her head._

"_Faster! More emotion! Why did I end up with a child like you?" Her father demanded with such ferocity that it was difficult for Katerina to keep her mask from slipping. Katerina's mother silently sad down on a stool beside her daughter and began lightly brushing through her dark tresses, each stroke loving and tender; a complete juxtaposition to her father's incessant complaints about Katerina._

_A tear almost slipped down her face as her father continued criticizing the swift movement of her fingers across the keys. Katerina's heart contracted as she thought of Andrei – they had not seen each other of just short of a month. She ached to hear his velvet voice, telling her how alluring and angelic she was. Andrei was the one person that made her life bearable, but now? She was alone. Her mother was but a shadow of her former self, only obeying her husband and ignoring the sensations of guilt that likely prodded at her mother's mind. _

_What Katerina feared the most, was that despite everything, she could still remember the time when her father had shown any signs of affection towards her and her mother. It all began when she had turned twelve years old. Questions bombarded her conscience as she asked herself daily: what had gone wrong? What had changed? What had driven him to these circumstances that his own daughter meant next to nothing to him? _

_Instead of asking her father, she would just have to continue her practice, continuing to endure her father's wrath. For this was no longer her father, just a man who had completely shut himself off, devoid of any forms of love. Nevertheless, Katerina never surrendered herself to drowning in too much self-pity. She still had hope that perhaps one day, this would man would revert back to the father she had loved so dearly._

_End of Flashback_

Katerina sulked at the memory and closed her eyes, remembering each painful day by the next. A churning of nausea wrestled in her stomach, and before she knew it, she sprinted outside and vomited into the tiny pot that was acted like a modern-day toilet. Once she was done, Katerina stared at the contents that her stomach had just emptied. It didn't make any sense in her mind – Katerina never threw up unless she was severely ill.

Another dry heave hit her, almost as quickly as she finished disgorging her lunch. No, dear God, no. This couldn't be happening to her.

She was intelligent – highly intelligent – and a possibility hit her like a train, leaving her dumbfounded. Katerina threw up once more, before backing away slowly from the pot. It was time for a visit to the healer of the village.

With that, she took off. Her skirt billowed in the wind and her corset contracted around her ribs, resulting in a shortage of breath. It was the spring following the winter in which Katerina had been forbidden to see Andrei. That night, she was admitted back into the house – but she snuck out once more. Just once.

_Flashback_

_ "Andrei." She looked up at him with large, tearful eyes, as she met him in the isolated building (which had been their regular meeting place). Katerina noticed that he had started a small fire to keep the house warm. Once Andrei laid eyes on her, his dark eyes widened in concern and quickly brought Katerina into his arms, whispering meaningless – but nonetheless, soothing – nothings, into her ear._

_ "I love you." She brought her lips to his, moulding them together as one. "But I can never see you again." It was then and there, that the truth hit her hard. Katerina felt as if a million needles had been pinpointed and then punctured her heart. Finally allowing her emotions to take over, warm droplets poured from her eyes, dampening Andrei's clothing._

_ "No. I need to see you."_

_ "You can't." She whimpered, brokenly._

_ He shook his head, appearing to be unable to believe that they would be restricted from even communicating with one another. Andrei swiftly brought his lips to her mouth again, sweeping her up in a passionate kiss. Soon enough, the meaningful kiss soon heated up and was beginning to cross Katerina's boundaries as their clothing began shedding. At this moment though, she didn't care – all her thoughts could focus on were Andrei. Everything she tasted, everything she smelled, everything she touched, each and every single sense was dominated by him. Each time their skin came in contact, Katerina felt the unfed fire lick its way up her body. Their bodies collided in the heat of fervour and rapture. _

_ She felt loved. Complete. Whole._

_ Once they were finished their love making, Katerina kissed him as gently as possible, before standing up to pull on her clothing once more. She had no more tears to cry and they clasped their hands together._

_ "Promise me that we'll be together some day?" He asked._

_ "Promise."_

_ "I love you, Kat." Andrei murmured, running his fingers through her ringlets. _

_ "And I you. Always." Katerina gave a small laugh at the how their roles in the brief exchange had switched. "Goodbye, Andrei." She whispered, before running back into the night with her fingers lightly brushing her smiling lips._

_End of Flashback_

As quickly as possible, Katerina reached the house in which the village's healer inhabited. Nervously, she knocked on the door once, twice, thrice. Finally, a frail old African American woman opened the door up and ushered the young women inside.

"You have got yourself into quite the predicament, dear Katerina Petrova." The old woman's small lips pulled up in a thin smile.

"How…" Katerina's eyes widened at the mysterious woman before her, confused at how the healer knew of what she was going to ask.

"You wouldn't believe me." Her ancient eyes twinkling with amusement, as Katerina noticed how they always appeared to smiling as if the healer knew things no one else did. "Fornication will never lead you far in life, love."

"I…" She was at a loss for words.

"You want to know if you are with child, I presume?" The lighthearted expression had turned into a solemn one. Katerina nodded and the old woman placed her hands gently on her stomach, on top of dress and corset she wore. She began murmuring in a language that Katerina had prided herself in learning: Latin. Unfortunately, she wasn't the most fluent at it and could only make out insignificant words that the healer was saying.

A sudden warmth flared up on Katerina's stomach and she shifted a bit, not feeling pain, but a more discomfort sensation.

At last, the woman finished and pulled back. "Miss Petrova, I am both merry and terribly sorry that you were placed in such a situation. You are carrying a child."

The entire world seemed to stop, right then and there. Katerina couldn't be a mother. She had barely turned seventeen a month or so ago. She didn't know how to be a mother and had never really longed for children at this point in her life. On top of all of this, it was Andrei's.

She had broken her oath to her father. It was all over for Katerina and she knew it.

The healer broke her concentration on her thoughts of inner turmoil. "You have a dark future that lies ahead of you, Katerina. Please be careful. Do not trust him." Her face was completely serious and Katerina had no idea what to make of this woman. Perhaps she was insane. But she was a healer and always aided people in their greatest times of need regarding their health. For health-related issues, Katerina believed her. But she also believed that this woman was suffering from insanity due to some of the phrases she told people.

"Do not worry too much for now. You'll find a way, little Katerina. You'll always find a way."

As for the 'him,' she couldn't understand. Was it Andrei? Her father? Marko?

Oh, God. Marko. The engagement would be called off. Her father thought she had tarnished the Petrova name ever so slightly before, it was definitely obliterated now. Nausea fought its way up her esophagus again, but not due to the pregnancy, but rather from the thought of the consequences of the pregnancy.

"Thank you." Katerina said, politely (though not really meaning it, as she would have preferred that the healer told her that this was just a false pregnancy and the vomiting was a sign of uncooked meat she had eaten beforehand). Fear consumed her and she ran like hell.

o0o

A couple months later, she had kept the child a secret, hoping that somehow she would make it through. If only her life were so merciful. At this point, her belly was beginning to show. Her mother was the first one to notice the weight Katerina was gaining.

"Katerina," Her mother choked in horror. "What have you done?"

Katerina didn't know what to do, for the expression on her mother's face was not of repulsion, but rather of concern and love. An expression she hadn't seen for years. "Mama." She replied before crumpling to the ground, breaking down into an uncontrollable wave of sobs. Her mother didn't react for a couple moments, but eventually leaning down to pull her daughter into her arms.

"Oh, Katerina." Her mother began to cry softly as well. Regardless of the tearful exchange, Katerina felt her chest swell with love as her mother showed Katerina that she still held a place in her mother's heart.

"I'm so," A strangled sound escaped Katerina's throat. "So scared, Mother. Help me." More hot tears rolled down their cheeks.

"You know what will happen when you father discovers what is happening." Her mother bit down on her lip. Katerina nodded and let her head relax onto her mother's shoulder.

"I will be banished. I've accepted the fact that I'll have to leave forever. But I'm begging you, Mother. I'm begging you to protect my child at any costs. Don't let Father hurt my child. Please, don't." Katerina pleaded, her arms immediately embracing her mother tighter.

A look of indecision appeared across her mother's face and Katerina felt all hope drain from her body. But at last, her mother nodded. "I will do everything in my power to make sure my grandchild is safe."

Katerina pulled back with her arms still around her mother. "I love you, Mother." She hadn't said those words for years.

"I love you so, so much. I am so sorry." More tears welled up in both the mother and daughter's eyes and they began to weep once more. This time, from the joy and relief of having each other once again.

o0o

"Katerina, what have you done?" Her mother had asked her the exact same thing, but the booming voice of her father made her small frame quiver with fear.

"I'm sorry, Father." She summoned up all her courage to talk. "Forgive me."

"No," Her father shook her head in astonishment. "And you claimed you were not a harlot. Sexual relations before marriage. I thought I taught you better."

"Father-"

"Who's the father of the child?" When Katerina didn't reply, her father let out a bitter laugh. "It was that poor lad, wasn't it? Andrei was his name."

Katerina automatically reached up to hold her hands to her protruding belly. "I haven't talked to him in months." She snarled, adrenaline and fury pumping through her entire body.

"You should talk to him now. Go. Tell him you are with his child." This easygoing side of her father put Katerina on edge. The uneasiness swept through her like hurricane and she had a terrible feeling of what her father meant behind his ambiguous words.

Nodding to her father, Katerina left quickly in search of Andrei's home on the other side of the village. She tapped on the door once, before being greeted with Andrei's mother.

"Hello, Miss Petrova." Andrei's mother said warmly, before her eyes lay on Katerina's pregnant stomach. The welcoming facial expression and posture dropped into a stiff, cold one. "Andrei shall be down shortly." Her tone had changed to match as well.

Katerina nodded and stood there, scared to even make a sound. Once her ears picked up the beats of footsteps coming around the corner, her eyes immediately brightened as she saw the man she loved for the first time in four and a half months.

"Katerina?" Andrei's eyes widened, shocked. A mix of emotions ran through his eyes that Katerina could not decipher. Just as his mother did, his eyes trailed down to bring attention to her extended belly. "What-"

"It's yours." She made a split decision to get straight to the point.

Andrei took a step back, as if she had slapped him. "No. It can't be mine."

"What are you insinuating? That I slept with a man at the same time I slept with you?" Katerina had no expected Andrei to react in this manner.

His brown eyes turned cold. "Yes."

This time, it was Katerina's turn to take a step back, as if Andrei had laid a hand on her as well. This couldn't be happening; Katerina had imagined a heartfelt reuniting with her lover and that they could run away together with their child afterwards. Perhaps it was just the idealist in her mind, as reality completely differed from what she had expected.

"What changed?" Katerina asked, quietly. She was too stunned to express any of the anger or anguish that she felt. The lack of emotion in Andrei's dark brown eyes was unsettling as well. The bad feeling crept into Katerina's mind once more and she took another step back.

"I found someone else."

If Katerina had thought the world had stopped when she discovered that she was carrying a child, it was nothing compared to this. Andrei's was supposed to be Katerina's. Always. Like they had repeated every time they were together.

"_I love you."_

"_And I you. Always."_

The words made her swallow painstakingly. "Who?"

"Me." The words came from behind Andrei. A woman with straight, light brown hair peeked out from behind the (former) love of Katerina's life. Her eyes were the brown colour that was common throughout the village, except that there was a tint of a green shade in them as well, making them a hazel colour. She had a thin frame and Katerina could barely make out any curves on the woman.

Katerina nodded, suddenly feeling completely numb in her body. Andrei had had every right to move on, as they believed they would never see each other again. However, Katerina did believe that they would meet again. But not like this. Never like this. He had promised to wait for her, just as she had returned the promise.

Disregarding all the future repercussions and falling into the impulsive, bold woman she had been before her father broke her down, Katerina strode towards Andrei and slapped him across the face. A red welt appeared on his right cheek and he gaped at the small – and seemingly defenseless – pregnant woman in front of him.

Katerina smiled maliciously at the woman beside him. "You know, that's fine. You can have him." She then turned back to Andrei, cocking her head to the side with the 'femme fatale' smile never failing her lips. "You need not worry, Andrei. You'll never have to see me or your child ever again."

"That was uncalled for." Andrei's mother's eyes narrowed at Katerina, her lips turning downwards into a furious scowl. His mother began to advance on Katerina, before Katerina's father stormed in.

"Touch her once and you'll never walk again." He threatened, anger lacing his hardened features.

"You wouldn't dare." His mother growled.

"Watch me."

"Tell your _courtesan_ to stay away from my son."

"Tell your _zhigolo_* to keep his body to himself before he impregnates another woman and leaves her hanging." My father replied, viciously. Katerina almost gaped at his willingness to defend his daughter.

"I'll see you in hell, Andrei." The profanity left Katerina's lips before she could even comprehend what she was saying. Her father didn't react, but Andrei, his lover, and his mother all gasped at Katerina's brashness.

Katerina and her father left them aghast at the events that just occurred. She fiddled with the sleeve of her dress before turning to her father.

"Forgive me for the wicked tongue, Father."

"There's nothing to forgive." Her father replied, softly. A tone she hadn't heard him use in what seemed to be eternity. "It is always a man's fault for impregnating a woman. He should have been taught better. As for you, you should have known better as well. But the past is the past and we cannot change it."

Praying to dear God that this wasn't a dream (or even a hallucination), Katerina tried to joke around. "Am I still a disgrace to the family?"

"Yes," The brutality of the answer was exactly what Katerina had expected. "But I promise you, no harm shall come to my grandchild, regardless of who the father was. You will still be banished all the same."

"I know." Katerina replied, sadly.

"Good. Your mother is waiting for you. I have to clear things up with the villagers about our family now. Don't expect people to treat you with respect, now that you have committed the unthinkable." With that, her loving father, that had reappeared for those few special moments, had disintegrated back into the strict, emotionless one.

She merely nodded, taking what she could get and returned to her house.

Her mother did not say anything; her face remaining impassive as Katerina's face crumpled with hurt.

"You knew, didn't you? You and father both knew." The numbness of the situation had begun to dissolve and all Katerina's emotions came rushing back. "Why didn't you tell me?" Primarily anger was fuelling her rant at the moment.

"You deserved for him to tell you. Andrei should have told you, so you would no longer cling to him. As I recall, you and Andrei were still bound by love. Or so you thought. Am I correct?" Her mother's voice was apathetic.

Katerina sniffled, her anger diffusing, being replaced by weariness and pure agony. "It's tearing me from the inside out."

"Your engagement with Marko is off."

"Is that so?" Katerina asked, not sounding astounded at all. She had known for some time that the engagement would be broken at some point. After all, Katerina was going to be banished. The thought gnawed at the back of her mind, but she chose to deal with it at a later date. Her mind was already flooded with more emotions and thoughts that she could acknowledge during this time.

On her neck was a choker, with a forest green stone that rested on the middle of her collarbone. A pale light green colour swirled through the stone, as well as an accenting white swirl as well. Underneath the stone, Katerina's initials were engraved carefully in elegant, curvy handwritten letters. The necklace was given to her from her by Andrei, the only person who had ever seemed to care. Katerina swiftly touched the stone, before ripping it off her neck and letting it clatter on the wooden planks of the floor.

"Go rest." Her mother said, quietly.

"What happened to the mother that I had just met again these past few months?"

"Your father-"

Katerina began laughing. It was surely insanity making its way through her mind. Her laughter began to fill the entire house and was irrepressible. With her dainty hand covering her mouth, her entire body shook as it was racked with giggles. This was how she was dealing with everything. Life appeared to be some kind of sick, twisted joke, played on Katerina Petrova.

o0o

Katerina had never heard of easy childbirths.

She had no idea as to why she believed hers would be any different.

Screaming in pain, another contraction hit Katerina as she attempted to push with all the strength she had left. Every fibre of her being protested, telling her to stop pushing and just relax her muscles. On the other hand, her mother was standing at the edge of the bed, helping deliver my child, along with a couple servants.

"A little more, dearest. A little more." Her mother encouraged, tears flowing down her face as she watched her daughter in unbearable pain during labour. It was in that moment that Katerina's mother realized what a mistake it had been that she had closed herself off to her daughter, as she feared her husband more than she loved her daughter.

Katerina's father stood stoically against the wall, watching the scene before him unresponsively.

Her fingers curling against the cotton bed sheets, Katerina released another scream, giving one final large push with all that she was. Sweat coated Katerina's face and her curls stuck to the side of her face from the exertion she had to perform. With that, she felt her mother hold the baby up from between her legs. The tiny human was beautiful in Katerina's eyes; her heart swelled with love and a protectiveness as she saw the dark brown doe eyes that matched her own.

"It's a girl." Her mother said, gazing at her grandchild with so much love that it made Katerina ache for the same to be given to her.

Reaching out towards her mother, her eyes lit up in wonder and awe at the tiny baby she had just given life to. "A girl." Katerina breathed. "Please, Mother. Let me see her."

"Women, don't! What are you doing?" Her father finally spoke out in disbelief, already reaching out to his wife to hold his newborn granddaughter. Katerina's mother handed the small baby to her husband.

Katerina's eyes widened in horror. They were going to take her precious baby girl away. "Let me at least hold her once… just once." She pleaded, her body already forgetting the pain that she had endured as she sat up and reached for her child once more.

"Forget it! You have disgraced this family!" Her father shouted, carrying Katerina's baby in his arms and leaving the room.

"Father, please!" She pleaded, still reaching for the baby girl that was no longer in the room. Desperate wails tumbled out of Katerina's lips. "No, Father, no!" Katerina cried out, feeling her body shake with torment and agony. What had she ever done to deserve this? Katerina had made many mistakes in her life, but she didn't believe anybody deserved to be forbidden from holding their own child.

"No, Katerina! It's better for her!" Her mother tried to soothe her distressed daughter by wrapping her arms around Katerina in an embrace. For these past years, she had appeared so much like an adult. She was always at the top of her game; sometimes it was just too easy to forget that Katerina Petrova was just a shattered, broken seventeen year old girl, whose life had been far too ruthless, callous, and merciless towards her. With that, Katerina's mother began to weep for the loss of innocence in her daughter, who was so broken at such a young age.

"No, Mother. Please." Katerina's voice began to lower in volume, the convulsive cries still causing her body to tremble in grief.

"Let her go… Let her go, Katerina." Katerina's mother tried again through her own tears.

"Please, Mama…" She whimpered quietly, before submitting to the choking sobs that strained and wrenched at her body. Katerina would never see her daughter again. Never hold her or tell her daughter how much she loved her. The revelation was too much for her to handle and she continued shedding her tears. Tears for the daughter she would never meet. Tears for her daughter's unfaithful father, who threw all the stolen kisses and promises away. Tears for the mother and father she had lost, regained for a brief moment, and lost once again. Finally, tears for how she would never see them again. None of it seemed real until now.

She was finally alone.

o0o

An epiphany dawned on Katerina as she packed up her things and pulled on her emergency bag. Her parents may have cared for her, but they were selfish. She was probably just a mistake they made but gradually learned to cope with. Katerina loved her parents, she really did, but there was only so much that her seventeen year old life could take. Then, her thoughts jumped to her father's harsh words that he said the night that Katerina's entire life drastically changed.

"_Obedience is a virtue, a gift and the only thing keeping me from disowning you. Learn it now, or leave." _

Her thoughts jumped to the healer.

"_You'll find a way, little Katerina. You'll always find a way."_

"_Obedience is a virtue, a gift and the only thing keeping me from disowning you. Learn it now, or leave. "_

Katerina's hands turned angrily into fists.

"_Learn it now, or leave."_

"_Leave."_

"_Leave."_

"_Leave."_

Katerina clutched her bag tightly, pulled on her hooded cloak, and walked out the front door. All the villagers watched her as if she were some kind of specimen. All of a sudden, Katerina's eyes met with the familiar, warm, crinkled eyes of the old woman.

"_You'll find a way, little Katerina. You'll always find a way."_

Katerina exchanged a glance with the woman, who had given her the strength to leave. And also the strength to regain the confidence that Katerina had been lacking for so long. She tightened her grip on her bag. As swiftly as possible, Katerina pulled up the skirt of her long gown and sprinted away, without a single glance back.

_Obedience is a virtue, a gift and a curse. Leave it and never look back._

Katerina Petrova would never be one to be trifled with ever again.

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note:<strong>Well, there's my spin on Katerina Petrova's past.

*_zhigolo_ - Bulgarian version of 'gigolo,' also known as a male prostitute.

Also, if it wasn't obvious, the healer woman was a witch.

Interesting - kind of.

Dramatic - oh yes.

An overall alright story - You decide.

Please review on my first TVD oneshot; it'd mean the world to me. Also, if you've read the Vampire Academy series, check out my other stories in the VA categories! :)

**Reviews = Love**!

_x Mel_


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